


Flight of the Vagrants

by SlowQuotesQuill



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, M/M, Tags Contain Spoilers, Third Year Hinata Shouyou and Kageyama Tobio, Third Year Tsukishima Kei, Third Year Yachi Hitoka, Third Year Yamaguchi Tadashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24373030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlowQuotesQuill/pseuds/SlowQuotesQuill
Summary: "Hey, Kageyama Tobio. Wherever we may end up in the future—don't you dare forget about me, alright?"Spoilers for ch.370.In the beginning, they were known as #9, and #10.At the last, when they were known as #2 and #5, Karasuno's "oddball combo" finally lets the curtains fall on that one title that bound them together.—Or, a king turned vice-captain, an ultimate decoy turned ultimate ace, and the sweet pain of finally having to find their way out of the nest.Twoshot.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 12
Kudos: 186
Collections: Kagehina Week 2020





	1. Past

**Author's Note:**

> **Vagrant** , _in ornithology_
> 
> —a bird found outside its species' or subspecies' normal migration range or distribution area.

_In the beginning, they were known as #9, and #10._

_Nine.—Harmony. Inspiration. Endings._

_Ten.—Life and death. Rebirth. Beginnings._

_Where 9 destroys all things, 10 rebuilds them anew._

* * *

As with all things that have intruded themselves into Kageyama Tobio's life lately, it all began and ended with Hinata Shouyou. 

Hinata was the one who had seen the crow fledgling crawling on the ground just outside the volleyball gym and picked it up. It looked like a sorry thing and not more than a month old, its dull black feathers damp and bedraggled; when Yachi examined it closely, she pronounced the bird's left wing sadly broken. After crafting a quick makeshift splint out of a popsicle stick to help steady its broken wing, Hinata asked around the freshmen and juniors to find out if there was anyone willing to take it in and care for it, at least until the weekend when they had more time to take it to the vet. 

There were no takers to Hinata's request among the younger set; and of course, among the current seniors in the volleyball club, Tsukishima would rather drop dead than be coaxed by Hinata into doing something bothersome, while Yamaguchi sadly ruminated that he didn't really know much about taking care of a wild animal. "Then, what about Kageyama?" he suggested. "His house is pretty close by, isn't it?" 

"Tsukishima's is, too," Kageyama argued, but in a flash Tsukishima had dragged Yamaguchi away from the inane conversation and Hinata, left with no choice, was already putting the chick in his hands. 

"Take it?" Hinata was saying, and Kageyama had half a mind to shove it back into Hinata's chest if not for the fact that, somewhere deep in the back of his mind, he suspected that Hinata still believed that Kageyama used to kick puppies for fun as a child—so instead of protesting, he just stared down at the bundle of feathers and claws and beak feebly cawing from his hands, and confirmed that—

Yes, as with all things that have intruded themselves into Kageyama Tobio's life lately, it had indeed all began… and _ended_ … with Hinata Shouyou.

* * *

During the summer of their last year in Karasuno, Hinata turned eighteen years old—old enough to possibly apply for a driving license of his own (if he had any interest in it in the first place, which he didn't), though not yet old enough to drink. The underclassmen and Yachi planned a surprise party in the gym, which got a little out of hand despite Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei's insistent reminders, and everyone ended up getting kicked out of the gym an hour earlier than they had planned on finishing—mostly so that they can quickly hide their evidence from the other sports clubs passing by on their way home. 

Hinata seemed a little down after the party, as though regretful that it had been unceremoniously cut short. However, when Yachi, who was as reliable as ever, mentioned offhandedly that there was a summer festival of sorts happening in the center of town, Hinata turned huge brown eyes to Kageyama and said, excitedly, "Hey, let's go, Kageyama." 

Kageyama was about to huff and tell Hinata that it was a little too late in the day to still consider the idea of an afterparty, but as always Hinata knew him too well, and after bringing to the forefront possibilities of endless competition to be had in the festival ("Goldfish scooping! Gun range! Who eats more yakisoba!"), Kageyama finally let himself be sucked into the enthusiasm of his partner. Tsukishima, who had darkly muttered something about idiots letting themselves be provoked by idiots, had tried to turn down the idea at first, but luckily, Yamaguchi seemed to be taken with the idea as well, and after having to endure the pressure of having all of the other seniors staring pointedly at him ("Let's _all_ go, Tsukishima/Tsukishima-kun/Tsukki!"), Tsukishima finally had to let himself be led downhill by an enthusiastic duo of Yachi pushing at his back and Yamaguchi tugging at his arm. 

"This is stupid, we have class tomorrow," he was still sniping as they trod the familiar path from school to the town, though there wasn't any venom in his words anymore. Yamaguchi tipped a huge wink in Hinata's direction, and he grinned back. Kageyama let out a sound that suspiciously sounded like a snort—which the petty Tsukishima probably vowed to get him back for, because the eyes behind his spectacles narrowed slightly at the sound. 

"It's fine, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi said. "After all—it's one of our many last chances." 

Kageyama thought that Yamaguchi's tone seemed a little sorrowful. 

They found their way to the festival due to the telltale _don-don-don_ of the huge drums; once they stepped into the ring of light cast by the lanterns on the perimeter of the celebrations, it felt like they had just fallen into a different world, an orange-tinted world that is full of interesting sounds and smells and _sights_. 

"Kageyama-kun, isn't it interesting to note that the first character of your personal name is the exact same as the first character of the team's motto?" 

Yachi noted that fact with a glitter in her eye after Kageyama had handed her the second prize he had won in the balloon darts game (he and Hinata had unanimously agreed to let her referee them). In the yellow, sunflower-patterned yukata she had borrowed, she looked even prettier, which Hinata had affirmed with an excited whoop immediately after she emerged from the yukata rental place. 

"Is it?" he flatly questioned Yachi, and she nodded enthusiastically. 

"Is it?" echoed Hinata, though his tone indicated that he didn't know how Kageyama spelled his name, instead of echoing Kageyama's indifference. Yachi laughed and used the prize Kageyama had just given her (a pen with three colors) to trace the character 飛 on her palm. 

" _Fly_ ," she read in a low voice. "I'm the one in charge of filling out the application forms for tournaments and stuff, so… I've gotten pretty familiar with how you guys spell your names." 

"So cool!" Hinata said. "So that was how you spelled your name."—to Kageyama. 

"It's not 'cool.'" Kageyama winced when he felt two—no, _four_ , as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had just rejoined the group, laden with food—pairs of eyes on him. "Besides, your name has a similar meaning"—to Hinata. 

"Sure," Hinata huffed irritably, as though Kageyama had just won something again just by having a first name like that, "but it's like you're carrying around the team spirit with that kinda name, y'know? It's a different kind of cool." 

"Oh, but you also are carrying the team spirit on you, if you think about it seriously for a minute," Yachi realized, and Hinata frowned. 

"How?" 

"Because you write your personal name with the characters for both 'soar' and 'sun'," Yachi explains patiently. "And if you remember our lit classes, what kind of animal both flies _and_ traditionally symbolizes the sun in old stories?" 

Blank looks from the oddball combo; Yamaguchi kindly stepped in for them by replying, "A crow, right?" 

"Ooooh," Hinata said, mouth open comically wide."I didn't realize that." 

"Probably because you were dumb enough to fail in a reading comprehension exam," Tsukishima sighed. 

"That was Kageyama!" Hinata said hotly; meanwhile, Kageyama, who had apparently lost all interest in the conversation, deposited a small keychain in Yachi's palm and said smugly, "That makes three, slowpoke." 

While Hinata cried foul for Kageyama's sneak attack on him and Yamaguchi plied some snacks on her, Yachi gripped the tokens that the boys had collected in their silly match thus far in one slim hand, and smiled. 

* * *

The evening after Hinata practically forced the crow into his care, Kageyama got home and put the fledgling in a small cardboard box that he found among his mother's endless stash of recyclable packaging. To help it adjust better to its new nest, he also added some makeshift bedding; cotton, shredded bits of paper, and even the stuff from the inside of old kneepads that he had worn when he was in middle school. 

He set the nest on the headboard of his bed beside his alarm clock, periodically checking on the bird as he (figuratively) wrestled with his homework. After a few fruitless attempts at remembering where the hell Oda Nobunaga actually died, he stuck his pencil back in its case with a sigh and picked up his ball to do some practice. 

The crow was lively despite its injury, he thought, as he lay down on the floor, carefully aimed the ball over his head, and started tossing it in the air. It made rather uncute sorts of noises, which he hoped with all his might would not be heard by anyone passing his room, though at least, he was relieved to note, it was too young to do any sort of full-on cawing. It was a little short to be able to hop out of the box on its own, so it was probably bored as hell. Kageyama paused his tossing, sat up on the floor to stare at the bird (it stared back at him, with a gaze that uncannily reminded him of a certain someone), and looked back down at the ball nestled in his hands. 

"I better save up and buy a new ball," he said aloud, though without any conviction at all, and he let it roll under his study desk. As it hit the opposite wall with a dull thud, however, his phone lit up with a call. When he flipped it open, he stared in surprise at the caller ID. 

"Hello?" 

"Sorry, Tobio. Did I wake you up?" 

"No. It's fine." 

"Oh, good." Kageyama Miwa's voice was framed by the lively noises of people and rushing cars; she was probably out eating or walking with friends in the streets of Tokyo. "Can you just see if you can find some of my old books in the dresser? It should be packed away in a box…" 

"Sure." Unconsciously worrying his lip with his teeth, Tobio started listing the titles that his sister rattled off on a piece of paper, and after securing a promise from him to have it wrapped up and shipped to her first thing tomorrow morning, Tobio was about to hang up when Miwa asked—

"What's that I'm hearing from your end?" 

"What?" Tobio automatically asked, and then realized that she was referring to the noises that the baby crow was making as it struggled to find food, or get out of the box, or both. "Er—" 

"—Did you find yourself a new pet?" 

"I, well, it's not really…" Tobio struggled for a while, before saying in a rush, "A teammate asked me to take care of it." 

"Oh…" Miwa sounded thoughtful. "What is it? Some sort of chicken?" 

"A crow," Tobio said crossly. 

"Ah. Okay." 

Miwa paused, then started laughing. Incensed, Tobio asked her what the matter is, but she just choked back her giggles and said, "Do you remember the very first time I made you cry? Well, probably not—you were practically a baby, but—" 

"Hah? Why bring that up all of a sudden?" 

"Because I also remember you playing with our pet cat then, and the cat was so attached to you that I was envious and thought I should play a little prank and hit you in the face accidentally-on-purpose with a volleyball. Mom would've killed me if not for Kazuyo-kun intervening, you were bawling so hard." Miwa burst out in another fit of giggles, while Tobio struggled to remember what she was talking about. 

"I do remember the cat," he said shortly, "but I'm not so sure about the ball." 

"Mm." Another thoughtful pause. "You never did get another pet after that cat died, huh?" 

"No." Tobio smiled. "Suddenly, there was volleyball to think of." 

"Suddenly, there was volleyball," Miwa agreed. 

"—Nee-san, that teammate who gave me the crow." 

Tobio restlessly played with the pencil on his desk, twirling it over and over in his hand, not sure why he was saying this all of a sudden. 

"He told me it was cool. My name." 

_"So cool!"_ —Hinata's offhand comment, which was ages ago, was still annoyingly in his head. 

"You got yourself a friend. Then that's good, right?" 

Miwa had a smile in her voice, almost as if she knew something he didn't—an impression which annoyed Tobio more than he cared to admit. 

"Try to live up to your name for his sake, Tobio. Fly as high as you can." 

When Miwa finally ended the call, Tobio glared at the crow, and it visibly wilted under his gaze. 

"Oi. Dumbass Hinata," he muttered. He was probably talking to the crow, or to a mental image of the real Hinata in his head, but it was hard to tell. "What the fuck are you looking at _me_ for?" 

* * *

Since their second year and up until now, Hinata hasn't exactly hidden his interest in pursuing beach volleyball in the near future. The only question that remained unanswered by the time summer started waning was, of course, if he can find a suitable location in the country to train himself—and a suitable coach to guide his growth. 

"What about you, Kageyama?"

They were loitering in the gym one evening after practice was done; or at least, Hinata was loitering, while Kageyama, who—despite being only vice-captain—can scare the underclassmen into order more effectively than their soft-spoken captain Yamaguchi ever could, kept a watchful eye on the first-years as they picked up the balls and ran around with the mop. Karasuno's slowly reviving reputation in high school volleyball, established during their time as first-years and nurtured during their second year, meant that a lot more people were interested to join the club during their last year to share in its glory, but it also meant that, after their consecutive defeats during the past two years, there was a lot more pressure on the third-years' shoulders to finally get at least a ticket to the championship under their belts before they retire from the team. 

"What about me?" Kageyama answered Hinata's question thusly, and the latter puffed his cheeks in Kageyama's apparent absentmindedness. 

"Your plans, dummy!" Hinata started dragging every syllable, as if talking to someone who only knew a smattering of Japanese. "Your. Plans. For. The. Future." 

"I can hear you perfectly!" Kageyama snapped, but Hinata only glared back, and they engaged in a staring contest (purely due to force of habit) when one of the freshies shyly approached them, having apparently finished their cleaning. 

"Kageyama-senpai, Hinata-senpai," he said, inclining his head. "We're done." 

"Good work," Kageyama and Hinata said in unison, then quickly refocused their glares at each other as if trying to resume their contest. The first-year twisted his hands in front of them nervously, afraid that they were going to get into the fullblown shouting matches that they were rather infamous for in the club, but Kageyama caught himself in time and waved them away, saying, "—I'll lock up. Go home, everyone." 

"Good work, senpai," the others chorused politely, and trooped out of the door to head to the club room and finally get their things to go home. 

"You're such a slave-driver, Kageyama-senpai," Hinata teased once the last person finally left. 

"They have to learn discipline sooner or later if they want to be regulars," Kageyama said, shortly. "And it's not something that can only be taught during training." 

Hinata grinned. "So scary." 

Kageyama shot him one of his Looks—the one that meant "I'll wring your neck if you continue talking in that vein." 

—It effectively quelled Hinata. 

They proceeded to turn off the lights and close the double doors, with Kageyama turning the lock behind them with a satisfying click. Outside, the weather was still pleasantly warm, but Hinata felt like he could almost already smell the fall as it approached, right on the heels of summer. It was a beautiful, if slightly muggy, summer evening; in the dim moonlight, Hinata thought he could see red-bodied dragonflies flitting through the rails of the bridge connecting the volleyball gym to the school building. 

"It's almost time for the Spring Tournament qualifiers," Kageyama said, unintentionally echoing Hinata's thoughts, and it was like he was just saying, "It's almost time for dinner," or "Let's do some spiking practice." 

_How annoyingly cool-headed,_ Hinata thought with a quirk of his mouth. Out loud, he said, "You didn't answer my question." 

"You mean my plans?" Kageyama absently scratched a red insect bite on his arm, and frowned. "I don't really have any. For now." 

"You don't?" 

"Nope." 

When not performing his duties as setter, Kageyama's face can be annoyingly easy to read, so Hinata only had to glance into those dark eyes to figure out that he was indeed telling the truth. But, Hinata-like, he couldn't also just let it go at that. 

"What about the V.League? Or college?" 

"If the V.League is interested in me, sure," Kageyama said, as they finally headed toward the club room. "If there's a college with a good volleyball team, then that's fine too." 

"You're surprisingly blasé about this," Hinata muttered, defeated. 

"Not really." Bathed in the silvery moonlight, Kageyama's features seemed to emit a slight radiance. "I just think it's useless to think about something far away instead of focusing on something that's right _here_." 

He glanced back at Hinata while saying this, and somehow it sounded like he could have been speaking about the Spring Tournament—or about something else. Not knowing which was which made Hinata feel strangely flustered. 

"You really are," he breathed, "a volleyball idiot." 

* * *

The scent of the Air Salonpas that Kageyama remembered Hinata spritzing on his aching arms and legs always brings to mind his memories of the curtains crashing down on the final spring that they were collectively known as Karasuno's oddball combo. 

No one really spoke as they trooped back into the gym for the awarding ceremony; no one had the energy to smile as Yamaguchi stepped up to receive the certificate of achievement that declared them the third best volleyball team among the high schools in the nation, nor did Hinata's eyes flicker when Kageyama stepped up to receive the beautiful, if severe, metal plaque emblazoned with the words

SPRING INTERHIGH TOURNAMENT 2015

SECOND RUNNER-UP

MIYAGI PREFECTURAL KARASUNO HIGH SCHOOL

Kageyama was sure that if he had asked Hinata what their food tasted like when they finally went into a restaurant to celebrate this milestone, his partner would probably have said something along the lines of what he thought as well, like "I don't really know," or, "Does it taste like anything?" On the other end of the table, where Yamaguchi and Tsukishima ate with the coaches, the atmosphere was lighter; Ukai was merry and Takeda even merrier. But for some reason, the lead in Kageyama's stomach (and probably in Hinata's as well) seemed to affect his appetite, even though he dutifully scoffed down three servings of rice and meat. 

Across from his seat, Hinata was picking his vegetables apart and separating the carrots from the green peppers, as though determined to keep his mind busy. Yachi, on his right side, was nervously glancing between her own food and Hinata as she tried to keep on eating, while some of the second-years seated near them were making small talk, as if to try to build a wall between themselves and the oppressive silence that reigned on the oddball combo's end of the table. 

Ukai had probably picked up on the unhappier moods of his two other third-years, though to give him credit, he didn't really say anything during dinner (perhaps to let the other members enjoy what was still technically an achievement) and stayed silent about the matter until they finally reached Karasuno and everyone was free to scatter to their homes. He easily caught Kageyama and Hinata by the scruffs of their necks and patted them squarely in the back. "Third overall in the nation isn't a bad thing, nor is it a defeat," he told them, "and with the team we have now, it's actually something you guys have to be proud of." A smile. "Thank you for playing in this team and devoting your all for three years. Hinata. Kageyama." 

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had hung behind, standing a little ways off, perhaps listening in as well. Yachi had already disappeared, probably to cry her eyes out in the bathroom, if she hadn't cried them to the fullest already. 

"You two, as well, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi," Ukai genially called out, and Yamaguchi returned it with a smile and Tsukishima with a jerk of his head that could possibly be a half-nod. "Good showing, boys. Again—don't beat yourself up over something you should celebrate. —Probably something that Takeda-sensei himself would have repeated if he wasn't dead drunk, but… ah well." 

Kageyama and Hinata slowly descended the hill road afterwards, with Yamaguchi and Tsukishima parting from them shortly. Hinata looked as though a particularly strong gust of wind could blow him away, so frail-looking was he, that Kageyama had a sudden fit of thoughtfulness, wrestled his bike from his slack grip, and wheeled it for him. 

"Don't be so out of it, dumbass," were his first words all afternoon, and his voice came out dry and rusty. 

"Mm." 

"Coach Ukai is right. —We did well enough." 

"—Do you really, honestly, _truly_ believe that, Kageyama?" 

Kageyama paused dead in his tracks, and looked over his shoulder at Hinata, who had stopped walking first. 

"Do you?" he repeated his question, forlornly. "Because I don't." 

"I…" 

Kageyama kicked himself mentally, wondering why it was that he couldn't really come up with anything to say even in a situation like this. Especially in a situation like this, when all he could think of was how strongly he agreed with Hinata, and yet a small part of him argued that it was unhealthy to let themselves dwell on it. "I," he repeats himself, and nothing else comes out, because suddenly, horribly, he can feel water running down his cheeks, and through tears, he could see that Hinata had started crying, too. 

They were both blubbering and gasping at the same time, and it felt as if they were drowning. Kageyama furiously scrubbed his face with the back of his arm in an attempt to make the tears stop, but then a fresh wave of disappointment—overwhelming and suffocating and painful—chokes him, and he starts to cry, again, childish sobs wracking from deep within his chest and echoing Hinata's own wailing, and then—

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargghhh!"

Hinata had started yelling into the quiet of the night, and Kageyama felt a burst of righteous anger within himself, too, and he started shouting alongside Hinata—a wordless sound, really, just an endless, crow's cry of fury that echoed all throughout the empty fields and mountains and—

Overhead, the sky was breathtakingly beautiful, a smattering of jewels across deep blue velvet, and to the two boys looking up and piercing the evening with their shouts, there can be no scenery as cruel as knowing that tomorrow, life will go on, and on, and on, as it had done for thousands and millions of years, even as they can still feel the crushing weight of having to leave their last springtime behind. 


	2. Future

_In the end, they were known as #2, and #5._

_Two—Existence. Duality. Separation._

_Five—Human limitation. The universe. Revolution._

_Nothing but time can stop them at this point. The failure that has been tasted is too great._

* * *

One morning, without Kageyama realizing it, the crow had already flown away through his open window. 

It disappeared during the same weekend when he'd promised Hinata that he'd take it to the vet; when he woke up, the nest on his headboard was already perfectly empty, and with a horrible jolt, he remembered slightly sliding the window open last night because it was horribly stuffy in his room, thinking that it was safe to do so since the crow was still injured anyway. 

—But now, so early on an otherwise perfect Saturday morning and glancing at the nest, Kageyama could see that it was quite empty. 

Shock coursed through his body, and quickly acting on impulse, he checked his room for signs of the bird—under his pillow, under his covers, under the bed, under his study desk, in his study desk, in between the piles of texbooks at the foot of his bed, inside his jacket pocket, _maybe_ stuck inside the air conditioning—

After a few minutes of panicked searching, Kageyama had to admit that the crow was, indeed, missing. (No, not dead—probably not. Preferably not. Hinata would never let him hear the end of this if he _did_ kill a small animal after taking care of it in just a little under a week.) 

He wondered what the best thing to do is. Hinata entrusted the crow to him, after all ( _He shouldn't have done it in the first place,_ he tried justifying to himself, though his mind's voice lacked its usual vindictiveness) and Yachi had suggested that she accompany him to the vet that afternoon, which potentially made for an incredibly awkward situation. He quickly dug into his bag for his phone, flipping it open, and thumbed through his address book to find Yachi's number. When she finally picked up after several short rings, she sounded like she had been sleeping in. 

"K-K-Kageyama-kun?" A yawn. "Oops, sorry. I pulled an all-nighter last night, so—" 

"Sorry, Yachi," Kageyama interrupted her, lightning-fast, because trying to devote more thinking about the situation was starting to make his head hurt. "Can we cancel the visit to the vet later?" 

"Huh?" Yachi sounded concerned. "Why? What happened? Are you unwell? I can pick up the bird from your house, if you like—" 

"No!" Kageyama snapped, then, afraid that he might have stunned Yachi into perpetual silence, softened his tone and continued, "I, er, the bird—uh, flew away already." 

Dead silence, which lasted for what felt like a minute. It was only probably a few seconds at the most, but Kageyama braced himself—

"It, it _flew_?" 

Yachi's incredulous tone was exactly what he had expected. 

"Yes," Kageyama said, and suddenly the sheer ridiculousness of the situation was palpable in the air, and doubly so in Yachi's doubtful silence. "Hey. I didn't kill it, alright? I swear." 

"I, er, wasn't accusing you of that! Not at all!" 

"Sorry." Kageyama kneaded his forehead. "Though, it's probably what that knucklehead Hinata would think…" 

"But, Kageyama-kun, how would a bird with a broken wing even, like, escape?" Yachi wondered timidly. "Did a cat get it or something?" 

"—Not possible." Kageyama had thought of that as well, but there were no trees outside his window, and a cat couldn't have climbed up from the ground nor reached his room from the roof. Everything was weird. "Unless… maybe my mom entered my room and chucked it away?"—Yachi choked slightly at the possibility being brought up—"Which she did not, of course!" he hastily amended. "No way." 

_Though, of course, there would be no way for me to find out even if she did,_ he thought, sourly. 

He tried his best to soothe Yachi (the operative word being "his best"), but when the manager finally hung up, he couldn't help but feel a sort of dread dawning in his stomach. 

Well—encountering black animals is a sign of bad luck, perhaps, but losing one? 

What does that even mean? 

* * *

"—Going... to… _Rio_!" 

"What?" 

"Rio—two years—after graduation." 

Startled from his reverie, Kageyama looked up, unsure whether he understood the huge announcement correctly. Just a peaceful moment ago, he was sipping a small carton of milk and spending his lunchtime alone in the hallway, when a wheezing Hinata finally found him, his wild hair stuck up from running and his face beaded with sweat. 

"Catch your breath before you drop dead, dumbass," he said, slowly, still trying to digest the statement. 

But Hinata was already gasping out, "I'm… going to… train in... Rio de… Janeiro for two… years. After… graduation."

Kageyama straightened up from his slouch (all the better to tower over Hinata) and growled, again, "What?" 

"For beach volleyball. It's what I've always talked about, isn't it?" 

_Of course,_ Kageyama could have said, because that much was true. He could be understanding and perhaps brush it off, because Rio or not, he wasn't probably going to see much of Hinata after high school anyway. (They certainly hadn't applied to the same colleges. —Or, belatedly, he realized that Hinata probably did not put anything at all down in his Future Plans Survey.) _Of course you're going there, it's going to be amazing,_ he could've said, too, because why not, Brazil sounded like a volleyball player's ultimate dream destination, their national team won three goddamn gold medals in the Olympics already and countless others in other worldwide competitions, but also it was half a world away, and going to Tokyo to see Hinata is vastly different from going to Rio to do the same thing—

But because Kageyama Tobio was Kageyama Tobio, what came out of his mouth was, "Why the fuck do you have to go to _Rio_ for that?" 

"Washijou‐sensei just called me up earlier and he says he knows someone there," Hinata was saying, babbling, really, as though half-fearful that Kageyama might actually understand what he was talking about, "and the beach volleyball scene here in Japan isn't as active as it is in Brazil, so we all agreed—" 

" _Who_ agreed?" Kageyama demanded, because he certainly had not been informed of this beforehand. 

"Well, I did, of course," Hinata said, wide-eyed, "and Coach Ukai, and Takeda-sensei, and my mom caved in a little, too—" And because Kageyama's face still looked like a storm cloud, he added, quietly, "It'll be good for me, Kageyama. Because I'm going to learn. A _lot_." A huge, sunflower-like grin. "What do you think?" 

Kageyama opened his mouth, and then closed it again, and averted his eyes. 

This is it for them, then. 

This is… 

_The future._

"…I see." 

He pushed himself off from his position against the wall, looked down at his nose on Hinata, and there was nothing remotely friendly in his gaze as he did so. Hinata grabbed his arm and stared back at him, round eyes trying to read what it was he was thinking right now, but Kageyama couldn't—wouldn't—give him the satisfaction of learning what it is. Not yet. 

"—K, Kageyama?" 

"Lunch is over," Kageyama said, listlessly, even though it was at least five minutes before the bell rings. For a moment, Hinata looked like he was about to argue, but then he dropped his arm and sighed, a smile slowly crossing his shadowy features, and Kageyama felt troubled by the shards of extreme guilt starting to poke him in the stomach. 

"Yeah. You're right. Sorry, Kageyama." A huff, and Hinata raised his head. "See you at practice?" 

"—See you at practice." 

Kageyama turned his back and started walking away, feeling as though he had just tried swallowing a whole block of ice with that one exchange. It was weird to hope that Hinata would call out something else at him, yell, be angry, anything—yet at the same time also hope for him to remain silent, but hope it he did. 

—He did not hear a peep from Hinata, even after rounding the corner, and after quickly ensconcing himself in the fire exit, Kageyama still cannot fathom what kind of face Hinata must be wearing right now as he clutched his chest, hard, taking shallower and shallower breaths and stubbornly trying to keep the torn halves of his pounding heart together—and not quite succeeding. 

* * *

Kageyama Tobio distinctly remembered turning eighteen a few days before their final Christmas with the current Karasuno. 

The team would have organized a birthday party as well, if not for the sheer fact that it was snowing heavily when they finally finished practice; and then there was Ukai shepherding all of them home, because having everyone catch their death of cold wasn't worth the fun. "Go home," he snapped in the clubroom at large, noticing that the intrepid Hinata was sneakily approaching Kageyama to whisper something. "I'd rather not find out that a certain someone stayed out late and got blown down a cliff or something while biking home. You got it? —Oi, Yamaguchi. Make sure they all get home." 

"Osu," Hinata and Yamaguchi muttered in unison, though when Ukai had already made his way out of the clubroom, Hinata was already grabbing Kageyama by the arm and dragging him outside in the freezing cold, despite Yamaguchi's protests. 

"What're you on about?" Kageyama said irritably as he struggled to pull his gloves on completely. "Coach said we should get back—" 

"Yeah," Hinata waved it off without any regret in his impish eyes. "But that would make this the saddest birthday ever." 

"I don't particularly care," Kageyama was grumbling, but Hinata puffed his cheeks up and returned his serve with—

"So you admit that what we did during my birthday was funner? That I win?" 

" _Huh?_ " Right on cue, Kageyama started to bristle, and Hinata saw his chance. 

"Well, then prove that you can come up with something much more interesting!" Hinata's grin was there, again, and somehow Kageyama suddenly felt a little warmer—even though the weather outside was still teeth-chatteringly cold. 

"Oi, you two!" Yamaguchi had finished dressing and had followed them, and now he had crossly grabbed them by the backs of their collars. "Coach would kill me if you did fall off the mountain, Hinata, so go on home while it's still early!" 

"Hinata's going to be fine even if he stays out late," Kageyama absently remarked, looking as if an idea had just crossed his mind, and Yamaguchi turned to frown at him, in a manner that had always struck Hinata as eerily reminiscent of Sawamura Daichi. 

"Oi. Kageyama. I'm being serious here—"

"He's staying over at my house." Kageyama's slasher smile was on his face. Hinata literally felt the temperature drop down a couple more degrees, though Kageyama wasn't doing anything but idly adjusting the buckle on his bag. "Don't worry. I'll make sure he stays alive through the night." 

"K-Kageyama-san?" Hinata was sputtering, looking as if he had _every_ reason to worry, while Yamaguchi looked as if he'd rather throw Hinata off the cliff with his own hands rather than go along with what Kageyama was saying—but before either of them can make up their minds as to what to do next, Kageyama was already tugging Hinata out of the captain's grip, and firmly marched him down to the bicycle shed. 

"Get your bike," he said, and when Hinata resentfully grumbled and obediently wheeled the offending machine to where Kageyama stood impassively, his hands deeply shoved in his pockets, he followed it up with, "Lend it to me. You go ride on the back." 

"Huh?" Hinata frowned up at Kageyama. "Why can't _you_ ride on the back and _I_ cycle myself?" 

"You have no idea how to get to my place, dumbass." 

"Oh. Yeah." 

Awkwardly, they settled on their agreed places, with Hinata balancing himself on the rack behind Kageyama, and they took off. 

Due to the snow, the ride was probably a lot less fun than it would have been if this was in the summer, but Hinata found that he didn't particularly mind, as Kageyama riding up front and being taller meant that he blocked the worst of the wind from hitting Hinata's face (a fact that he also rather resented, deep in his soul). Also, the edge of Kageyama's blue scarf kept on flying behind him and tickling his cheek, which felt rather friendly, and Hinata sometimes took the time to bat it off his skin in a curious sort of way whenever Kageyama slowed down or stopped to let someone else pass. 

—From his vantage point, the snowflakes slowly drifting and melting on Kageyama's straight dark hair were perhaps the prettiest things in the world. 

The ride was a little shorter than he had expected it to be, and they were soon pulling up to a nice-looking two-storey house with white walls, Hinata confirming that this was the Kageyama residence with the rather severe-looking nameplate on the gatepost. The lights were all off, except for a light in what Hinata presumed was the living room on the ground floor. 

"Come on," Kageyama said, carefully concealing the bike behind a bush, and Hinata meekly followed him as he went inside the dimly-lit house and called out, "I'm home. I have a friend with me." 

"Happy birthday, Tobio!" To his surprise (and to Kageyama's, too, judging by his incredulous expression), the person who answered the call was a lot more youthful than he had expected, and a girl. She stepped out of the living room with a weird grace that made Hinata think of a cat, and she crossed her arms. 

"You didn't say you were coming home." Kageyama's familiar frown was working its way back to his face, but the girl only laughed. 

"Hey, introduce me to your friend, first. That's the polite thing to do." 

"Er, Hinata, this is my older sister, Kageyama Miwa." Kageyama was scratching the back of his head in discomfort, evidently not used to doing this often in his life. Or ever. "Nee-san, this is Hinata Shouyou. He's a middle blocker in our team."

"Nice to meet you, Hinata-san," Kageyama Miwa said easily. 

"Er, no need with the honorifics, really—" Hinata waved his hands around, then peeked at Miwa, who was still looking at him with a curious look on her face. "Um, how should I call you? Er—"

"I'm not really used to being called by my first name by a boy, but calling Tobio and I both by our surnames would be bothersome for you, right?" Miwa flashed a grin. 

"Um. —Miwa-san, then?" 

"Sure. Sounds fine with me." 

"Okay. Miwa-san." Hinata tested the name out on his tongue again, face flushing a deep pink, and Miwa nodded in approval. 

"You guys ate dinner already?" 

"No," Kageyama was saying, but Hinata had already rushed in and said, "I'm here to celebrate Kage— To— Tobio-san's birthday!" 

Kageyama was giving him a certain look that probably said something like "Why do you sound like a shirt that was thrown into a washing cycle for an entire day?", but Miwa brightened up. 

"Exactly my thoughts. I _had_ ordered something over, if you guys didn't mind." She led them both back to the living room, where a veritable feast (at least, to three people) was laid out on the low coffee table, and in the middle of it all, a white cake with eighteen candles carefully stuck around in a circle. Miwa brought out a candle lighter and lit them up one by one, while Hinata was instructed to turn the lights down in the room, so that the candlelight was the only source of illumination. 

Miwa instructed everyone to sit down around the table, and she and Hinata started a very enthusiastic round of the happy-birthday song. Even though there were only two people singing, Hinata felt that the gentle, happy glow in Kageyama's eyes (imagined?) more than reciprocated the relative emptiness of the room, and sometimes he could swear that there was a smile flickering on the corner of Kageyama's lips. 

"Make a wish, Tobio," Miwa murmured when Kageyama prepared to blow the candles, and he closed his eyes briefly with a silent prayer before blowing everything out with two puffs. 

"Yay!"—Hinata clapping. 

"Happy birthday!" Miwa leaned over with her glass of oolong tea, and both boys clinked their glasses against hers in imitation. "Hinata-san, please eat!" 

"O, okay!" 

"Why're you so nervous for? Dumbass." 

"Oh, shut up!" 

Even as they bickered throughout dinner, they managed to finish the food among the three of them; Miwa was full of questions about their club activities, and Hinata was happy to answer any that Kageyama was reluctant to answer himself. When the remains of dinner were finally cleared away, Miwa presented her little brother with a large gift-wrapped box. 

"Mom and dad chose these, and I chipped in a little," she said, and despite himself, Kageyama eagerly took it with a flustered thanks and carefully tore the bright wrapping away. 

"Ooh," Hinata said, as Kageyama pulled the rectangular box out of the remains of its paper. "Those are clearly…" 

"Shoes," Kageyama said happily, and lifted the cover off the box with trembling fingers. The pristine white volleyball shoes nestled within made Hinata fidget with envy, and Miwa looked on with a small smile on her lips. "I've been begging dad forever to get me new ones. I— Thank you," he told Miwa, and she chuckled. 

"They're sooo expensive, but mom said to make sure to wear them out too," she teased him, and he grinned back and nodded. 

"Let's break them in, Kageyama," Hinata whooped, grabbing a ball and rushing to the backyard, and Kageyama's grin widened ever so slightly before he frantically pulled the shoes out of the box and raced after him. 

"Let's!" 

"Are you both stupid?" Miwa called out, as Hinata reached the glass doors first and slid them open to take a whiff of the wintry air. It was still snowing, though not as heavy as it had been an hour ago, and Kageyama located the shovel and started scraping off the snow from the ground. 

They played the rest of the night away, Miwa even joining in a little though she was just in her slippers, and Hinata secretly thought that even though Kageyama's birthday was a lot more subdued than his own months ago, the mere fact that Kageyama looked the happiest he had been in months perhaps made up for all of its other shortcomings. 

* * *

Only two months remained before their commencement exercises when the fateful phone call finally came for Kageyama, though during the exact moment when it did come, his focus was more on the scene unfolding before his eyes rather than on the future. 

While he continued to talk normally with Hinata, they still haven't really talked properly about Rio ever since the latter's revelation of his plans; he was loath to bring it up himself, and Hinata seemed even less forthcoming after the lukewarm reception that he had experienced from his partner. If Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, and Yachi ever took note of this strange coldness that settled between the two every time anyone even mentions Brazil, they didn't really mention it out loud, which was honestly a relief to Kageyama; he didn't want anyone trying to make them up by force or anything—even though Hinata's news still feels like he was trying to digest a huge chunk of ice in his stomach, all numbing and cold and tasteless, and it was annoying the _hell_ out of him. 

He squeezed his eyes closed, then opened them again, refocusing on the solemn single line of underclassmen assembled before them. 

The first- and second-years had plied the seniors with retirement gifts in the gymnasium as part of the succession ceremony; even Yachi was not spared, as everyone pitched in to buy her a huge bouquet of flowers. Her successor, a quiet first-year that rather reminded one of Shimizu before Yachi, had presented the bouquet to her with a deeply moving speech that reduced half her audience into tearful wrecks—Yachi herself was sobbing openly, crushing the flowers to her bosom as she embraced them tightly, and thanked everyone over and over for the fun three years. 

Each third-year had been given a small present, as well—Tsukishima, a pouch for his headphones that has a small cartoon dinosaur embroidered on the side that says "Gao," no doubt an idea gleaned from the snickering Yamaguchi; Hinata, a two-pair set of awesome leg supporters in black, which everyone knew he had coveted for a very long time; Kageyama, a new sports bag, completely waterproof and lightweight, making Hinata bristle with envy; and Yamaguchi, the captain, a custom-made hoodie with Karasuno's motto written on the left breast, as well as a massive scrapbook filled with photographs and even more memories, compiled by both managers. Each of them clutched at the tokens tightly, as though taking in the feelings of the people who were to succeed them. 

"How about some final words of advice from our captain and vice-captain?" Ukai suggested, and with a nod, Kageyama stepped forward first, his face impassive and proud, like always. 

He wasn't crying; Hinata notes that none of the four of them were. 

—The time for tears has long passed. 

A poignant pause as Kageyama cleared his throat awkwardly and put his hands behind his back before speaking; even though he was nicknamed the "demon vice-captain" behind his back (especially when compared to the meek and gentle Yamaguchi), Kageyama was actually quite popular among the underclassmen—something that was still quite an enigma to Hinata, who was the unanimous darling and "pet" of the club—and mostly the recipient of so many hair-rufflings outside of the court. 

"Good work!" Kageyama roared into the silence of the gym. 

_"Osu!"_ the welling of many voices answered back at him. 

"We won't be able to play with you next year anymore." Kageyama glared in the middle of the crowd, though it wasn't aimed at anyone in particular; Hinata cracked a grin as one terrified first-year took an instinctive step back. "The only wish I have for you guys is… to engrave all of the blood, sweat, and tears you've shed this year. To make it next year. To go even further with the teammates that you have now." 

Takeda-sensei seemed to have been smiling sadly, as though a memory had just struck his mind. 

"Anyway—Kageyama Tobio, stepping down from the vice-captaincy. Again, good work!" 

"Thank you for your guidance, Kageyama-san!" the team replied in a swell of emotion. Kageyama went back to his place beside Hinata, who felt that if this had been the old days, he would have taken a jab at the shoddy speech, or with the way Kageyama immediately shoved both hands into his pockets to hide their sudden trembling. But he did not say a word. 

Yamaguchi was next; the scrapbook he had received was pressed against his heart to give him strength. He took a deep breath, and raised his voice— 

"Good work, everyone!" 

_"Osu!"_

"I, well, I'm not good with words, and I doubt any of us are, but…" A nervous chuckle, returned by titters from the team. "We may have fallen short of our goal, but I am still proud to call myself the captain of one of the best three teams in the country. It's been a pleasure to have served as your leader this year! 

"Matsukawa-kun, it's your time. Please lead Karasuno to victory!" 

"Of course! Thank you for the guidance, Tadashi-san!" the second-year yelled back. He was also blinking back tears. 

Everyone echoed, "Thank you for the guidance, Tadashi-san!" 

"Then, for the last time. Everyone, huddle up!" 

Everyone obediently dropped what they were holding and formed a large circle; Hinata found Kageyama and touched him lightly on the shoulder. 

Yamaguchi yelled, "KARASUNO!" 

"FIGHT!" everyone called back. 

The war-cry brilliantly echoed in the wide gym...

...and died down—

"..." 

"..." 

"..." 

—The resulting silence was one that Hinata wasn't likely to ever forget soon. 

Everyone basked in the golden sunlight that streamed into the gym, and Hinata realized that his fellow third-years' stoic facades were starting to crack; even Tsukishima, he noted with some satisfaction, was trying to control a trembling lip. Yamaguchi was letting the tears stream down his cheeks, uncaring, while Kageyama was staring holes into the wooden floor, stone-faced. Hinata could feel a tear starting to form in his right eye and he blinked it back furiously, because even though they were not speaking, there was no way in hell he will let Kageyama win again this time— 

"Takeda-sensei? Pardon the intrusion—" 

The party was only broken up by the pattering of feet and the new person that had just entered the gym; Hinata recognized him as one of the teachers in the junior level. He held out a piece of paper in his hand, and Takeda-sensei looked a little confused as he approached to take it—but as he listened to the other teacher's whispered message, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. 

"I wonder what that is," Hinata heard Yamaguchi muttering to Tsukishima, and the latter shrugged. 

Takeda-sensei turned around, an indefinable look on his round face, and another hush fell over the team. 

"Kageyama-kun. Please follow me back to the faculty office. For everyone else, you are free to go." 

"Eh? Kageyama?" 

As Ukai started herding the excitable underclassmen out of the gym, presumably reminding them not to get too worked up on the idea of a farewell party, Hinata looked at Kageyama for some kind of explanation, but Kageyama looked almost as lost as he is. 

"Quickly, please." And with a significant look at Kageyama, Takeda-sensei hurried outside, flanked by the other teacher. 

Hinata had the split-second urge to call out to Kageyama that he'd be waiting by the gate, but before he could even do that, Kageyama had already followed Takeda-sensei, and then the moment has passed. 

* * *

Hinata was waiting for him by the gate when Kageyama finally emerged from the school an hour later after his errand with Takeda-sensei, his eyes overcast and pointed at the ground in deep thought. Hinata was about to wave at him, but then— 

"Oi! Don't ignore me, Kageyama!" He grabbed Kageyama's elbow as he walked right past him, and the setter started, as if he had been woken up from a dream. 

"Huh? Oh. Hinata." Kageyama's eyes plainly said, _What the hell are you doing here?_ and Hinata puffed up angrily. 

"After I wait around for you to come back, this is the thanks I get?" 

"I bet you just waited cuz you wanted to know what it was about, anyway." Kageyama's face had that infuriating look he has whenever he knew that he was right. 

"I, well," Hinata struggled to fight against the influence of that face for a bit, then gave up. "FINE! Yes, I was curious, so I waited around. Is that so bad?" 

He expected Kageyama to yell back ("YOU THINK I'LL TELL YOU, STUPID?") or to start shoving him around or something like he usually does, but he does nothing of the sort; instead, he sighs deeply and tucks his hands into his pockets. Then, he asks gruffly, "Mind taking a walk with me?" 

Hinata raises his eyebrows at this, and obliges; he wheeled his bicycle forward, carefully avoiding Kageyama with it as he turned his back and started leading him through the quiet streets of the town sleeping at the foot of the hill. 

Kageyama walked and walked, and Hinata followed and followed, and it was only when the evening had finally swallowed them up that Hinata realizes that they had been walking in circles for a great distance; they must have passed the same convenience store thrice already. But still Kageyama walked, his sneakers making almost no noise against the concrete, and Hinata also notices for the first time that there was a little fraying on the hem of Kageyama's school-issue trousers; probably a by-product of letting it out again for the third or fourth time. Hinata sadly compares it with his own pants, which had only been let out twice during the last three years. 

"—Oi. Kageyama." 

Kageyama is silent, but his back is speaking volumes. Hinata wonders if he could actually muster the courage to grab Kageyama by the elbow and spin him around to make him talk, but touching that dark, quiet back seemed to be even more daunting than having Kageyama yell back at him, so he raised his voice and repeated— 

"OI. KAGEYAMA." 

"—I'm not going to college."

The words struck him across the face like a slap, and Hinata stopped dead in his tracks. "Not going to college?" he repeated, numbly. "But then, how—" 

_How do you plan on continuing to play volleyball?_ was his question, but somehow he knew the answer already. 

"The call." Kageyama finally spun around to face him, and Hinata's eyes widened as he saw his teammate's face. Kageyama's eyes were shining brilliantly, and a quiver was somewhere on the corner of his lip, as though fighting back a smile. As though fighting back the urge to be wildly happy. As if he was slightly afraid that if he celebrated, it'll all be taken back in a flash—

"The call…?" 

"It was from the V.League." Slowly, inch by inch, he was finally giving up the fight—the widest grin Hinata has ever seen on Kageyama's face was suddenly _there_ , and how the hell had he never noticed how different he looks with an expression like that—

And slowly, Hinata's face lit up when he finally realized what the hell Kageyama was talking about. 

"The…" 

The... V.League. 

Wait. The V.League?

The goddamn _pros_?

Kageyama… his rival Kageyama… his teammate Kageyama… his best friend Kageyama… is going to be… a… 

"Kageyamaaaaaa! You bastaaaaaard!" 

He flew and tackled a surprised Kageyama, almost unbalancing him if not for strong, steady arms catching him and lifting him into the air, and they spun around and around with the momentum before Kageyama finally collapsed to the ground, Hinata still tangled with his limbs. It was almost like that one time that they brawled during the summer of their first year, so much alike but also so different, that Hinata flung his head back, and laughed and laughed and laughed. Kageyama joins in after a stunned silence, and his more restrained chuckles mingled with Hinata's merriment as they sat there in the middle of the street, both of them just mere children on the brink of becoming adults, after all—

"So awesome!" Hinata was yelling, and Kageyama half-feared someone would start yelling back to tell them to shut up or something, but they were luckily in a rather lonely side-road. "I knew it! You're the best! The _best_!" 

"Stop slobbering all over! Are you a dog?!" 

"I'm so damn _jealous_ !" Hinata buried his face in Kageyama's shirt, trembling slightly from his own high energy, and raised his head up again in a flash to meet Kageyama's startled gaze. "You're the _best_ , Kageyama!" 

"Don't be so excited, for fuck's sake— I'm just entering the team as pinch server for now, there's no way—" 

" _For now,_ " Hinata echoed him, which shut Kageyama up. "But you're definitely going to be a regular within the year. I can tell, because you're the best, Kageyama."

"How the hell would you know?" Kageyama shifted uncomfortably under Hinata's gimlet gaze. 

"…" 

Hinata just stared at him, and then—

"Well, who else do you think has received the most of your tosses?" 

If there was one thing that Kageyama didn't dislike about Hinata—

It was that pure honesty shining in his eyes right now. 

He pressed his hand over his eyes, and tried to swallow the feeling in his throat. As if he was about to cry. 

Dammit. He'd been able to endure that hour-long succession ceremony back in the gym, that hour-long call from the V.League scout, and that hour-long walk to where they now sat on the ground together without tearing up, so why— why now, why can this bastard Hinata undo all of his efforts with just a single question—? 

Kageyama lifted his face, and smiled. 

"Take care on the other side of the world, dumbass Hinata." 

—From those words, Hinata knew that Kageyama had finally accepted his decision. Even if he hasn't fully understood it yet. 

And perhaps this has also sealed their fates, forever. 

It felt happy, but sad at the same time. 

"—Hey, Kageyama Tobio." 

Hinata's eyes were silvery in the light filtering from the lone lamp post illuminating them. 

"—What?" 

"Two years, ten, twenty, it doesn't matter how long it takes. One day, I'll be able to fulfill my promise to you." 

Hinata grinned, his whole heart exposed momentarily for the barest fraction of a second, and Kageyama's own jumped unexpectedly. 

"Wherever we may end up in the future—don't you dare forget about me, alright?"

Kageyama stared back at him for what felt like hours, and finally returned the smile. 

"As if," he said, simply. "You still have to defeat me, dumbass." 

* * *

—This is one of Kageyama Tobio's final memories of Hinata Shouyou. 

_"Kageyama?"_

He remembers the golden sunlight as it filtered through the high windows of Karasuno's second gymnasium, empty except for the two of them, and the way the rays illuminate Hinata's face—a face that was still round, still childlike, even though the familiar glitter in his eyes had been weathered and tempered by memory and time. Kageyama sees it all and remembers it, this sight of Hinata, in his school uniform and not in the volleyball jersey numbered 5, not anymore, because they had already left _that_ part of themselves behind—

This is one of Kageyama Tobio's final memories of Hinata.

_"Kageyama."_

He remembers the chill of the air and the way Hinata's vibrant hair curls around his ears. Hinata has not had a haircut for a couple of months, now. One difference. The other difference is that the arms protruding from his rolled-up sleeves are poised and hardened by the shocks of many impossible receives—

No one who has played a match against Hinata can say that his receiving is his weak spot, now. 

_"Kageyama, serve the ball already."_

He remembers smiling at Hinata from across the court, and him grinning back, and he remembers being truly, perfectly happy for the first time in one thousand and four-hundred-sixty days. 

_"Kageyama?"_

_"—Here goes."_

This is one of Kageyama Tobio's final memories of Hinata.

A single nod from Hinata is all he needs, and Kageyama easily hurls the ball up in a perfect serve toss, and there was the wonderful soaring sensation as he jumps to meet it, as his arms and legs skimmed through the wind and his palm makes the satisfying contact with synthetic leather—

—He remembers Hinata's frown of concentration with an aching, persistent kind of sweetness, as though he was looking at a photograph slowly fading over time. 

His smile grows wider. 

_"See you later, Kageyama!"_

—This, is one of Kageyama Tobio's final memories of Hinata. 

_"...Yeah, see you later."_

* * *

This is one of Hinata Shouyou's final memories of Kageyama Tobio. 

_"You ready, dumbass?"_

"You really didn't have to sacrifice your sleep to call. You have practice early tomorrow, right?" 

_"—Shut up."_

This is one of Hinata Shouyou's final memories of Kageyama. 

It was perhaps funny to think that one of his final memories of Kageyama did not even involve seeing his face at all, but the mere fact that hearing Kageyama, quick-witted Kageyama, death-glare Kageyama, all-too-serious Kageyama, who had spurred him on, faster and faster and higher and higher and further and further, to listen to his all-too-familiar snapping over the phone, was enough—Hinata smiles, and sighs. It was near-impossible to think of a time after middle school where Kageyama simply… _isn't_. 

Even as he packed his things in the single bulging bag that he would bring with him, Kageyama was still there, reminding him of things he may have forgotten like a hovering mother hen, and Hinata smiles. Even with the undercurrent of concern, Kageyama's voice was still gruff, still unable to adopt a softer, more even tone, and still unabashedly honest with his feelings. Hinata hears him start a rant about accidentally dying due to excessive sun exposure or something (possibly because he almost forgot to buy proper sunblock the day before), and he happily tunes out the words in favor of just listening to the harsh, beautiful melody that was Kageyama's voice, because God knows when he'll hear it again after this. 

_"Oi. Hinata."_

This is one of Hinata Shouyou's final memories of Kageyama. 

"Huh?" 

_"Don't 'huh' me, bastard. Are you all packed up?"_

"I think so." 

_"Cap?"_

"Check." 

_"Socks?"_

"Check." 

_"Sunblock? Katou-san's number?"_

"Check, and… check." 

Kageyama testily rattled off a few more items that Hinata was pretty sure they both already knew had been packed, and then the last thing he somehow manages to shove in his overstuffed bag is a volleyball. 

He is ready to go at last. 

"Kageyama-kun," he whispers for no reason in particular, given that they had been speaking in normal tones for the past few minutes, "I'm going. Okay?" 

—This is one of Hinata Shouyou's final memories of Kageyama. 

_"Okay."_

A soft sigh, and Hinata listens to it trail longingly over the phone, his lip trembling, and it was with audible effort that Kageyama finally says,

_"Take care, dumbass Hinata."_


End file.
